Detroit City Council OKs land deal for closed Herman Kiefer health complex

The Detroit City Council has approved a land deal on a redevelopment plan for the 18-acre Herman Kiefer health complex site.

Tuesday's vote also requires New York-based developer Ron Castellano to guarantee the 10 vacant buildings will be secured and weatherproofed to guard against theft and blight, The Detroit News reported.

The main hospital closed in 2013.

Castellano will acquire the property for $925,000. The agreement includes the 424,000-square-foot main hospital and three empty school buildings.

The rehabilitation of about 100 homes owned by the Detroit Land Bank also is part of the deal.

As Crain's reported earlier this week, Castellano plans to spend more than $70 million over the next eight years redeveloping the former hospital site off Taylor Street west of the Lodge Freeway.

Castellano, principal of Herman Kiefer Development LLC and New York City-based architecture firm Studio Castellano, said none of the buildings on the site will be demolished as part of the project, which would include an unknown number of multifamily units as well as space for other uses such as retail, hospitality, restaurants, an incubator kitchen and educational uses.

The site, outside the hot development spots in greater downtown, is not daunting to Castellano.

"In New York City, I was doing residential projects on one of the most crime-ridden corners of the city, and the units sold out in a week," he said.

Below: The Herman Kiefer complex as captured in August 2013 in Google Street View.